1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to lawn care equipment and in particular to a lawn edger which utilizes a vertical drive engine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The lawn edgers are the type concerned herein utilize a steel cutter blade for edging around sidewalks, curbs, driveways and the like. The prior art gasoline powered edger utilizes an internal combustion gasoline engine, normally four cycle. The engine mounts to a frame with its output shaft horizontal. The blade is carried by a blade brace forward of the engine. A drive pulley is mounted to the output shaft of the engine and a driven pulley is mounted to the shaft for the cutter blade. A belt extends between the pulleys for rotating the cutter blade. A spring will bias the brace to maintain tension on the belt.
In the normal cutting mode, the blade is vertical as well as the drive and driven pulleys. In some prior art lawn edgers, the operator can rotate the blade brace 90 degrees relative to the frame. When rotated, the blade will then be in a horizontal position for certain applications. When rotated, the belt twists.
These edgers work very well. However, they are fairly expensive. The major item of the cost is the cost of the engine with its horizontal output shaft. Lawn mower engines typically do not utilize a horizontal output shaft. Rather, a lawn mower engine will utilize a vertical shaft which directly couples to a horizontal blade located below the engine. Because of the volume manufactured, a lawn mower engine with a vertical drive shaft is less expensive than engines utilized for lawn edgers, which have horizontal drive shafts.